Zalgiris big man Jock Landale will be playing in a different team next season. With the request of the player, Jock Landale and Zalgiris have mutually agreed to part ways, as the Aussie continues to seek out his dream of playing in the NBA. A member of the Australian men’s national team signed a deal with Zalgiris last summer and had a running contract for next season. After the two sides reached an agreement, the 24-year-old addressed the fans and the Zalgiris organization. “I just wanted to reach out and say thank you for everything you’ve done for the past year. It was such an incredible experience coming to Lithuania and playing for such a historic club and a legendary coach. To the organization, I appreciate what you guys have done. Everyone’s got goals and ambitions, and you really helped me reach mine. You’ve got a fan in me for life.”
Tag: Lithuania
Zalgiris fans will see yet another new …
Zalgiris fans will see yet another new face in green-and-white, as the Lithuanian champions have signed a one-year deal with French center Joffrey Lauvergne Zalgiris fans will see yet another new face in green-and-white, as the Lithuanian champions have signed a one-year deal with French center Joffrey Lauvergne.
Donatas Urbonas: Zalgiris Kaunas …
Donatas Urbonas: Zalgiris Kaunas started interviewing candidates for the head coach position. G league coach of the year Martin Schiller is targeted by Zalgiris as their primary candidate, I’m told. If Schiller refuses, Ertugrul Erdogan most likely will be offered to take the job.
LaMelo Ball says experience in Lithuania helped him in the long run
While a move that looked to be a failure in the moment, LaMelo Ball’s year in Lithuania was a move that he ultimately felt make him better.
By nearly all accounts, the Ball family’s experience in Lithuania with BC Vytautas was a failure. After lasting just one year overseas in Europe, LiAngelo and LaMelo Ball were forced to return back to America largely with their tail tucked between their legs after failing to make much of an impression on the team or league.
While the immediate consequences of the decision to go overseas were largely negative, the long-term effects actually produced some positives for the Ball family and, specifically, LaMelo.
During an interview with GQ Australia, Ball talked about the experience of playing professionally in Lithuania.
“I feel it helped me in the long run. I grew up a lot. After doing that I felt I could go anywhere.”
Lithuania served largely as a crash course for Ball in the lifestyle of being a professional basketball player. The family’s Facebook show “Ball in the Family” showed how Ball lived in Lithuania and while it was a mess at the time, it served as a learning experience that he almost certainly relied upon in once joining the National Basketball League (NBL).
Ball talked in the same interview about the decision to join the NBL and why it was an easy one given the previous experience he had in Lithuania. So, while it was a move that did not produce strong dividends in the moment, it was a move that paid at least some dividends in the future.
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